


The Green Ribbon

by robindrake93



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Anxiety, Blood and Gore, Book 3: The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus), Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Dubious Consent, Guilt, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Minor Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Necrophilia, POV Third Person, Resurrection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:34:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28179201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robindrake93/pseuds/robindrake93
Summary: Nico dies and Jason brings him back to life.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Jason Grace
Comments: 23
Kudos: 48





	1. Angel Lust

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the story The Green Ribbon (hence the title). And I thought that it would be fun to switch up the troupe of Nico fucking dead people back to life. 
> 
>   
> Don’t reupload/repost my fics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is me being hilarious.

Jason watched Ephialtes swing his spear like a bat and smack Percy across the chest. Percy fell to his knees, a wheezing sound coming from his mouth. He ran to Percy. Jason was the only one who could help Percy. 

Piper was still on the floor, unable to get up. Nico was barely conscious. 

Percy looked up, at something behind Jason. He tried to speak but hadn’t yet caught his breath after that smack to the chest. The look on his face was of indescribable horror, as though whatever he witnessed was so terrible that it was pulling him apart. 

Jason assumed it was Otis lumbering after him, though that struck him as strange. Percy wasn’t afraid of the giant brothers. Which meant that something else was happening. He didn’t turn to look until he was already at Percy’s side. 

Otis was not chasing Jason. He’d found easier prey in the weakened Nico di Angelo. 

Nico was barely conscious, sitting back on his haunches and looking around like he couldn’t make sense of what his eyes saw. There wasn’t even a token fight. 

In one clean swipe, Otis slit Nico’s throat. 

Blood pooled from the wound like a fountain, running down Nico’s front. The blow was so strong that it nearly decapitated Nico and his head connected only by a few strips of flesh. His body swayed and he fell backward. 

Otis laughed. 

Percy howled and surged to his feet. The snarl that ripped from his throat was so inhuman that Jason felt a flash of fear. “You’re both dead. I don’t care if we have a god on our side or not.” Percy’s words were a twisted snarl, barely recognisable as a language. 

“Well, that’s a shame,” said a new voice. To his right, another platform lowered from the ceiling. Leaning casually on a pinecone-topped staff was a man in a purple camp shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals with white socks. He raised his broad-brimmed hat, and purple fire flickered in his eyes. “I’d hate to think I made a special trip for nothing.” Bacchus. 

After that, Jason didn’t remember much of the battle. He couldn’t have recounted a single detail to anyone. He couldn’t even tell if they’d won the battle, though common sense said that they did. All he cared about was that Nico was dead. When it was over, Jason walked over to Nico’s body. 

Percy came and knelt beside him. He touched Nico’s pale hand. His expression was pure grief, the look of someone who has lost everything. It was strange to see because Jason didn’t realize Percy cared so much about Nico. 

Piper limped to them. Her arm was still bent at a painful angle. Her eyes glazed with pain. She collapsed on Jason’s other side and leaned against him. “Can we save him?” she asked, directing her question to Bacchus.

Jason immediately tore his eyes away from Nico’s awful neck wound and looked at the god. He wasn’t sure that it was within Bacchus’ power set to bring Nico back from the dead but if anyone knew how to save Nico, it would be the god. 

Bacchus’ smile was one of a madman. It was full of teeth and stretched his mouth wide. “Considering his father and the fact that he’s still fresh enough, I’d say there’s a good chance to bring him back. You’ll need to reattach his head, of course, as well give him the seed of life and a little shock to get his heart going.” 

Percy got up immediately. He walked away, and rummaged through the giant brothers’ belongings, which were still strewn about the area despite the fact that they were dead. When he came back, he held a spool of green thread and needle in his hands. “Can either of you sew?” This seemed to be directed at Piper more than Jason. 

Piper shook her head. If she wasn’t so exhausted, she probably would have glared at Percy. 

“I can,” Jason said. His stomach twisted at the prospect of what he was volunteering for but if it brought Nico back… He accepted the thread and needle from Percy and used his teeth to bite through it after measuring off a long length. Jason took a deep breath. He adjusted Nico’s head so that it was lined up. Then he pushed the needle through the skin. Blood covered Jason’s fingers almost immediately. It was still steaming hot. 

“What’s the seed of life?” Piper asked Bacchus. Her head dipped toward her chin but she jerked awake again. 

Jason didn’t see Bacchus’ expression since he was busy sewing Nico’s neck back onto his shoulders but he was sure that the creepy grin was back. “Not something you can give, my dear. One of the boys will have to do it.” 

Percy understood a heartbeat before Jason did. His expression twisted with disgust. 

Jason jabbed the needle a little harder than necessary. It was a good thing Nico was dead and couldn’t feel this. Still, he silently apologized. 

Neither Percy nor Jason were looking at each other. 

Bacchus laughed. He faded into purple mist but his laughter hung in the air for a long time after. 

“We have to bring him back,” Piper said. “He has information we need. And he’s our friend.” She didn’t sound so sure about that last part but Jason appreciated the attempt. “So which of you is going to do it?”

Jason steadily stitched Nico’s flesh back together. The thread was more red than green by now. His fingertips were dyed with Nico’s blood. 

“Annabeth would kill me,” Percy said faintly. 

Piper almost passed out again. She was edging nearer to that abyss. “What is the seed of life?” Before they could answer, Piper made a noise of surprise. Then she did faint, collapsing onto her side. Thankfully it wasn’t the side with the broken arm. 

“It’s cum. One of us has to cum inside of him,” Percy deadpanned, even though she couldn’t hear him. 

Jason’s face turned bright red. He wished he could blame the color of his face on Nico’s steaming blood. The gash was sewn as best as Jason could do. His stitches weren’t too bad; they were mostly straight and even. He tied off the knot and then realized that there was excess. Jason steeled his nerves and leaned down. As before, he bit the thread. This time, though, he tasted Nico’s blood. It got on his lips and teeth and tongue. 

Nico’s blood tasted sweet, almost fermented, but in a cloying, rotting sort of way. It almost made Jason gag. Almost. 

Jason sat back on his haunches and surveyed his handiwork. “His head is reattached,” he announced to Percy. For the first time, he met Percy’s eyes. 

“We need him,” Percy said. 

Jason nodded agreement. 

“We’ll fail without him and I...I’ve spent so long looking after him.” Percy was still holding Nico’s hand, Jason realized. “He can’t die.” 

Jason nodded again. He and Nico had been close at Camp Jupiter. The loss was devastating on every level. 

“I think you should do it. He needs a zap to the heart anyway and only you can do that.” Percy said this as though he was not talking about committing a taboo act that violated their friend or shoving it off onto Jason. 

Jason said nothing. He stared down at Nico’s pale face. It looked like Nico could be sleeping, aside from the blood and the green thread holding his neck together. Jason has barely kissed anyone. He’s never even gotten to second base. Sex was beyond him. And sex with a corpse? 

“He isn’t a corpse. He’s Nico,” Percy said. His tone turned insistent. He ran his fingers along Nico’s wrist, over veins that looked blue beneath Nico’s deathly pallor. “One of us has to do it.” 

“Why don’t you do it?” Jason gestured to where Percy was touching Nico. “You don’t seem like you’d have a problem.” In hindsight, accusing someone of being a necrophiliac was rather rude. 

Percy looked down at Nico. His expression was tired, sad, and a little wistful. “Nico would hate me forever if I did it. And Annabeth would kill me if she found out.” 

Jason wasn’t so sure about Nico hating Percy. He silently agreed that Annabeth would kill Percy if he had sex with anyone other than her. Even if it was sex to save someone’s life...and the world. “I’ve never…”

“You think I have?” Percy asked, scoffing. He seemed oddly proud of hanging onto his virginity. Most guys Jason knew were eager to get rid of it as quickly as possible. “Look. Just try. If you can’t,” -this was said with a flick down to Jason’s crotch- “Then tell me and I’ll do it. But I think...I think it should be done while he’s still...hot.” 

Jason had seen bodies before. When he was a young cub hunting with Lupa and her pack, he’d torn into fresh kills with the ravenous hunger of any four-legged predator. Eating the dead didn’t bother him - unless it was a demigod or a wolf - but the idea of _fucking_ the dead hadn’t crossed his mind before this. It seemed… Jason didn’t know. This was out of his area of expertise. Of all the things he thought he would have to do as a demigod, all the challenges he would have to face, fucking a corpse wasn’t one of them. Without taking his eyes from Nico’s pale, drawn face, Jason said, “I think I can do it.”

Percy nodded. He stayed where he knelt, still clinging to Nico’s hand. He brought Nico’s hand to his mouth and kissed his knuckles. The movement of Nico’s arm was unnatural, almost boneless. Percy carefully set Nico’s hand at his side. “Be careful with him,” he said. Then he picked Piper up and walked away. Over his shoulder he said, “We’ll be close by. Shout if you need me.” 

Now it was just Jason and Nico. The steam no longer rose from Nico’s wound. His blood had dried on Jason’s fingers but his shirt was still wet. Jason cut the bloody cloth off and used what little bits were clean to wipe the blood from Nico’s skin. Freshly dead things didn’t feel like they were dead. The skin still gave but not obscenely. The body retained its heat. Nico had yet to chill and stiffen with rigor mortis. “Pretend he’s alive,” Jason whispered to himself. “He’s just sleeping.” 

If Nico was just sleeping then he’d have to give Jason permission to have sex with him, otherwise this would be rape. Jason frowned to himself. Was this going to turn him into a rapist _and_ a necrophiliac all in one go? This wasn’t something they’d ever talked about before. It had never come up that if one of them died, they could resurrect the other with their cock and holy shit was Jason really going to do this? 

He should just call Percy back. Say that he couldn’t get an erection and it was up to Percy to fuck Nico back to life. Except...if Nico needed his heart restarted, then Jason would have to come back and see his friend’s used body...or stay and watch for the appropriate time. He really wasn’t sure which one was worse. They were both terrible options. This was going to weigh on Jason forever. He would never get over doing this. 

Jason looked again to Nico’s face. Was Nico scared, falling into Tartarus and then being locked in the jar? Did he realize that he was going to suffocate? Was he afraid to die alone? Did he die thinking that no one cared? Jason wasn’t entirely sure how much awareness Nico had had before he died. He’d seemed really out of it. But in his mind, Nico only knew that he’d been dumped out of the jar and had his throat slit like a pig. In his imagination, Jason told himself that Nico hadn’t had time to see that they were there, fighting for him. He was still in a death trance when the jar had been opened. The last thing he saw was Otis. Nico must have died thinking that they’d abandoned him. 

“We didn’t abandon you,” Jason whispered. He kept his voice low, didn’t want Percy to overhear. He thought of the way that Percy had held Nico’s hand, kissed his cooling knuckles. As though it was nothing, as though he didn’t mind touching a corpse. And what had Percy said? That it was better to do this while Nico was still hot. Belatedly, Jason realized he was trembling. He closed his eyes, trying to center himself. 

Percy was right. It would be better if Nico was still soft and pliant and warm. Jason conjured images of Nico alive, bringing to the forefront of his mind everything they’ve ever touched. Sparring together, handshakes, Jason slinging his arm around Nico’s shoulders. The brush of Nico’s soft hair against his cheek as he leaned in close to whisper a secret. The way his breath smelled like pomegranates no matter what Nico had been eating or drinking beforehand. 

Jason unbuttoned his jeans. He reached his hand into his underwear. The flakey blood was an uncomfortable texture but Jason ignored it and wrapped his fingers around his soft cock. He had to get hard so that he could fuck Nico and cum inside of him and bring him back to life. Jason stroked but it didn’t seem to be doing much good. He glanced over his shoulder, didn’t see any sign of Percy and Piper, and eased his cock out of his underwear. That should have made it easier. But even with more room to work with, Jason couldn’t get hard. Gods, he never thought that getting a boner would be a problem for him. 

It wasn’t even like he wasn’t attracted to Nico. Nico was stunningly, ethereally gorgeous. Normal teenage problems like clinging baby fat, sparse facial hair, and acne didn’t apply to him. His face was angular, foxlike, and his cheekbones could cut glass. His skin was smooth like marble. And lukewarm, Jason remembered. Every time he’d touched Nico, it was like touching...like touching a corpse. 

Jason’s hand did not stop working his cock. He would get hard even if it was through nothing but mechanical friction. He opened his eyes and looked down at Nico’s body. There was still no hair below the eyebrows...none that Jason could see, anyway. Jason swallowed, inexplicably nervous all of a sudden. He reached out and touched Nico’s arm. 

There was no difference between touching his arm as a corpse and touching his arm when he was alive. The flesh was still springy, the temperature was the exact same. This newfound knowledge tipped Jason’s world on its axis. Was Nico...was he already partially dead? Was that why Percy had been able to hold his hand and kiss his knuckles? Because dead Nico felt the same as living Nico? 

For the first time, Jason’s cock responded. He blinked, stared down at his cock as though it belonged to someone else. It wasn’t exactly a large, enthusiastic response, but it was something. Jason looked at Nico again, considering seriously. If Nico felt the same, and Jason could pretend that he was doing this consensually - make up a story. Pretend he’s your boyfriend, asleep, and you’re going to wake him up with morning sex. And he’s already consented to this but we both want it to be a surprise so you’ve been waiting for the right time - then he might be able to actually go through with it. 

The only problem, now that he was kind of engrossed in the story he told himself, was that stitched up gash across Nico’s throat. It ruined the image. Jason tore off a section of his own t-shirt and carefully draped it over Nico’s throat to cover the stitches. There. Maybe Nico wore scarves to bed. How was Jason supposed to know? They’ve only just moved in together…

Jason very desperately needed to keep the story going. He needed to build on the details. Otherwise, he was going to have to face what he was about to do. So in the theme of keeping up with the story, Jason ran his hand down Nico’s thin chest. He paused at Nico’s nipples. They were a rosy pink and so little. Were they sensitive? Would touching them make Nico writhe and moan? Jason’s cock liked the idea of that, chubbing up at the thought. Jason brushed his fingers over Nico’s nipples. The areola was softer than Jason expected, and Nico’s actual nipple was a stiff bud. 

Without giving it too much thought, Jason leaned over Nico and licked his nipple. His skin tasted like blood but if Jason tried hard enough, he could pretend that it was the salt of sweat. Yeah, that was good. It was a warm California night and Nico was sweating in his sleep, shirt off because it was so hot. Jason licked Nico’s nipple, ran his tongue over it and circled it. He even lightly caught it between his teeth. 

_What are you doing? He can’t feel any of this._

Jason pushed the voice away. He needed to pretend. He needed the fantasy to cover up the terrible reality. Nico was only being quiet because he was asleep...and because they had a roommate. His brain latched onto that idea. Yes, a roommate who didn’t want to hear them having sex and who would tell everyone if they weren’t quiet about it. Jason brushed his lips across to Nico’s other nipple, kissing and licking it until it was shiny with his saliva. 

_You have to hurry up before he gets too cold and stiff. Keep going._

Clumsily, Jason trailed kisses down the center of Nico’s torso, following a straight line to his bellybutton. The hand that wasn’t on his cock, ran along Nico’s side, down to his hips. Nico was still wearing pants. Heart pounding, Jason carefully unbuttoned Nico’s pants. He slid the zipper down. Then he hooked his fingers into the waistband of both pants and underwear. Jason pulled them both down to Nico’s thighs, over his knees, and then past his feet. 

Now all Nico wore was his usual bomber jacket. If he hadn’t been wearing it, Jason would have felt that Nico was too naked and vulnerable. He couldn’t explain why, but the jacket was such an essential part of who Nico was in Jason’s mind that it soothed some of Jason’s jittery nerves to see his friend still wearing it. 

Jason’s gaze found Nico’s pelvis. He had no happy trail, no pubic hair. That wasn’t overly surprising. Jason found himself staring at Nico’s cock for a long time, noticing that he was uncircumcised. Jason was circumcised. He’d never seen an uncircumcised cock before...or touched one. He reached out, touched the tip of Nico’s cock, at the hole of his foreskin. Morbid curiosity made Jason take Nico’s cock in his hand and ease back the foreskin, exposing glands that frankly looked exactly like Jason’s did. Huh. 

As Jason moved his hand back and forth, hiding and exposing the head of Nico’s cock, he mirrored the actions with his own cock. Jason’s cock took an interest in what was happening, becoming even harder. He wondered what it would be like if Nico got hard. He wondered if his cock would flush red and if Nico would buck his hips into Jason’s hand. The idea sent a shiver of pleasure through Jason. 

No matter how much Jason stroked, Nico wouldn’t get hard. He didn’t have blood pressure at the moment. And ever aware of the limited time frame he had, Jason forced himself to move on. By the time he’d rolled Nico’s balls in his palm, Jason’s cock was fully erect. He eased himself between Nico’s legs, his own legs trembling. His whole body felt like it had been set to vibrate. 

Nico’s skin was so soft. His legs parted willingly, still pliable. He looked like he was just waiting for Jason to ease into him. 

Jason shook as he scooted closer and closer, manhandling Nico so that his legs were out of the way. He didn’t know if it was comfortable, assuming that if Nico was alive he would rather have his legs around Jason’s waist than splayed open at this unnatural angle. But Jason was working with what he had. This was the best he could do. He took a deep breath. Okay. This was it. Time to wake Nico up. His fingers trailed down Nico’s taint, to his hole. Jason was surprised to find him loose and relaxed - _he’s dead, idiot_ , Jason’s brain supplied - as though he’d been prepped already. 

Jason spat into his hand several times and used it to lubricate his cock. It was surprisingly hard to line them up properly. Nico was awfully low to the ground and Jason was still kneeling. Jason also couldn’t really see what he was doing, so he was doing it by touch alone. And yet...he didn’t hate the way Nico’s skin felt as he brushed the head of his cock against it. He couldn’t stop shaking. It took actual minutes before Jason was able to slip the head of his cock inside of Nico’s body. When he finally breached, Jason let out a sigh of relief. 

The inside of Nico’s body was still warm. Oh, gods, it was still warm like life. His walls were just tight enough around Jason’s cock that it felt good. Fuck, it felt _good_. Tears rolled down Jason’s cheeks with the realization. He ignored them and sank in further. Nico’s body was soft on the inside, which Jason hadn’t been expecting. He wasn’t sure what he _was_ expecting. Something terrible. Something that would turn him off to sex for the rest of his life. 

Instead, Jason shook with the realization that he really liked this, that fucking a corpse wasn’t as terrible as he’d thought it would be. It was a devastating truth. He pulled back then rocked his hips forward. For the first time, Jason realized that he was going to get off like this, using Nico’s body like a sex toy. He prayed, hard, for forgiveness as he once again thrust into Nico. The first attempts were clumsy but the more he did it, the more he got the hang of it and fell into a fast rhythm. The smack of skin against skin was loud in the quiet.

Nico’s body shifted and moved with every thrust. His head lolled. It sounded like he sighed and Jason didn’t let his mind tell him the truth, that it was just the last of the air leaving Nico’s lungs. 

Jason held onto Nico’s hips and thrust into him. He did his best to keep them from sliding across the floor with the force of Jason’s thrusts. He couldn’t believe it felt this good. Why did it feel this good? Would it feel this good if Nico was alive? Was he going to have a weird necrophilia problem because of this? Gods, he hoped not. Jason gazed down at Nico and the rocking of his body and could almost pretend that Nico was alive and a willing participant. His cock had never felt so good in all his life. Not even his best masturbation sessions were as good as this. 

If time wasn’t an issue, then it would have been embarrassing how quickly Jason came. He did so quietly, biting his lip so hard that it bled. Just because he was expected to cum, didn’t mean he wanted Percy to know that he’d enjoyed it. Moaning aloud felt like too much. Like it was too telling. Jason filled Nico with his seed, straining as his cock pumped Nico full of it. He gazed down at Nico’s beautiful, pale face and the next thing he knew, his lips brushed against Nico’s lips. Those were still soft too.

After trembling through the aftershocks of his orgasm, Jason eased out. He ripped off more of his shirt and used it to wipe his dick clean. Then he tucked himself back into his pants. Jason glanced at Nico’s hole, saw his own cum leaking out, and felt a bolt of arousal shoot through him. No. He was only doing that once in his life and no more. Gods knew that Nico was going to hate him forever for the violation of his body. And fuck, if the only thing left to do was jumpstart Nico’s heart, well, in a few minutes, then the least that Jason could do was redress him the best he could. Jason pulled Nico’s underwear and pants back onto his body and carefully put them into place exactly as they’d been before. His crime was covered up. 

Okay. It was time. Jason closed his eyes and focused. He felt the hair on his arms rise and smelled ozone. It didn’t have to be a big shock, not like a lightning strike. But it needed to restart a heart that hadn’t beaten for almost an hour. Jason felt the electricity within him, felt it crackle through his veins and along his skin. It did not hurt him, could not hurt him, but anyone else who touched him would be in for a nasty surprise. Jason touched Nico’s chest, just over his heart. He felt the electricity flow from himself into Nico’s body. 

He felt Nico’s heart jump. Once. Twice. Then again. Now it was beating fast. 

Jason broke contact. He let the electricity fizzle out into nothingness. For the next few hours, anyone who touched him would get a static shock but that was okay. It was okay because Nico’s heart was beating again. He sat back anxiously and watched. 

For a few terrible seconds nothing happened. Then, Nico sucked in a huge breath of air. His eyes opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m considering writing a sequel. Maybe. Would you like to know what happens next?


	2. Nearly Headless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico is alive. Percy is the only one holding his shit together.

Dying was like being on the shadow roads. Nico’s soul had wandered in the icy darkness that was familiar to him after so many years of traveling through the shadows. He wasn’t afraid, not even as he shadows whispered for him to join them. Years ago, his father had warned Nico that if he stayed on the shadow roads for too long, or traveled by them too often, he would dissolve into shadow himself. The road would claim him. 

To be perfectly honest, Nico hadn’t realized he was dead until he came back to life. His first breath had been painful. The next one came easier. Then he could open his eyes. 

The first thing he saw was Jason’s handsome face, looking down at him with eyes full of fear and guilt. The blue of his eyes was the pale blue of lightning itself; nearly white and almost indistinguishable from the whites surrounding his irises. Tears tracked down Jason’s cheeks but he didn’t seem to be aware of them. 

As Nico became more settled in his skin, he took a mental inventory of his body. Something deep inside of him ached, somewhere around his pelvis. 

“He’s back!” Percy’s voice came from some distance away. He ran toward them, skidded to a halt on the concrete even though it must have fucked his knees up bad. Percy knelt beside Jason. He offered Nico a relieved smile but something about it made him look like he’d been through the fields of punishment. “Welcome back, Nico.”

To Nico’s horror, his face warmed with a blush that he knew the two boys could see. He ducked his head...his neck felt strange. Nico lifted a hand to his neck and recoiled in horror. There was a wound and there was thread stitching his flesh back together. He shuddered, eyes going wide. “H-how...did I...come back?” Nico didn’t recognize his own voice. It was soft and gravelly. 

Jason abruptly turned to Percy and buried his face against Percy’s shoulder. He broke down crying, letting out pitiful whines and huge sobs as though he were a very small child and not sixteen years old. His entire body shook. 

To Nico’s even greater surprise, Percy didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around Jason. He stroked Jason’s hair and back and said, “It’s okay. It’s okay. He’s alive. You did good. It's okay. It’s over now. He’s alive.” Percy looked over Jason’s shoulder, met Nico’s eye, and gave a half shrug like _Romans, what can you do?_

Nico didn’t think his eyes could get any wider. He pushed himself into a sitting position and hissed through his teeth. Gods, why did he hurt on the inside? Sitting made him dizzy. “What...happened?” Getting out a multiple-syllable word was hard. His throat was dry and ached. Nico tried to remember but everything between going into the jar and the present was foggy. 

Before anyone could explain, the Argo II was coming in for a landing. The Argo II extended its landing gear and settled on the arena floor. Hazel and Frank stood at the helm with another boy, all three grinning. Coach Hedge clambered down and trotted up to them. “What happened?” Coach Hedge saw Nico’s throat and blanched. 

Nico felt his face warming with embarrassment. He drew his bomber jacket up and ducked his head to hide the stitches. It was only then that he realized his shirt was gone. 

Percy just shook his head. “Piper is over there. She’s hurt. Will you help get her aboard?” 

Coach Hedge eyed them. Then he nodded and went toward where Percy had pointed. Hazel and Frank were on their way down.

As soon as it was just the three of them, Percy gripped Jason by the shoulders and pushed him away so that they were eye to eye. “Look at me. Jason. Listen. This is between us, right? No one has to know. Okay?” 

Tears and snot ran down Jason’s face. He was almost hyperventilating. But after a few moments of looking into Percy’s eyes, Jason nodded. He used his ripped shirt to wipe his face clean. “Okay.” 

Nico watched the two of them and tried to control his jealousy. Jason was his best friend and Percy was his...well, it didn’t matter what Percy was. Nico held him in high regard. And they were comforting _each other_ instead of him. The one who _died_. Nico wondered what had happened while he was dead and what they’d done to bring him back. 

He didn’t get a chance to ask again. Hazel, Frank, and the other boy were suddenly there. “Nico!” Hazel gasped when she saw him. “What happened? Why is your…?” She knelt and gave him a light hug. Her hair tickled Nico’s nose. 

“I...don’t...know,” Nico forced the words out. 

“Otis nearly, almost decapitated him,” Percy said. He still held Jason. “But he’s fixed now. More or less. So. Uh. What happened with you guys? Where’s Annabeth?” 

A fresh round of tears rolled down Jason’s face. He doubled over, forehead resting on Percy’s knees, and cried silently. 

Nico has never ever in his life seen Jason Grace cry. He’s never even seen Jason lose his cool. This was unnerving and so was the deep ache inside of him. Because that hadn’t come from getting his throat slit or from being in the jar. He reached out to touch Jason, offer some comfort. 

Percy snatched his hand before Nico could make contact. He caught Nico’s eye and shook his head. 

The boy that Nico didn’t know winced and answered Percy’s question. “Yeah, about that...she’s still in trouble, we think. Hurt, broken leg, maybe - at least according to this vision Gaea showed us. Rescuing her is our next stop.” The boy smelled like molten metal and motor oil; a son of Hephaestus. 

Percy’s expression turned scarily intense. His grip on Nico’s hand tightened until it hurt. “Tell me about the vision. Tell me everything.” His voice was tight with rage.

The floor shook. The wooden planks began to disappear, spilling sand into the pits of the hypogeum below. It was unclear if Percy was what was causing the place to collapse or if it was already doomed. 

Coach Hedge came into sight, carrying a limp Piper in his arms. He looked like he was having a bit of a time with it, but he jogged past them without stopping or slowing. “She’ll be fine once we get some ambrosia into her.” 

“Let’s talk on board,” Hazel suggested. She pried Percy’s fingers from Nico’s hand and helped Nico to his feet. “We’d better take off while we still can.” 

Nico’s legs gave out beneath him. He sank back to the concrete and hissed once again as pain shot through him. There wasn’t even anything he could compare the pain to because he’d never felt anything like it. 

Worry lined Hazel’s face. She turned to Frank. “Will you carry him?”

Frank looked to Nico, silently asking permission. After a nod from Nico, he scooped Nico into his arms. Frank lifted him like Nico weighed no more than a forty pound sack of flour. His obvious strength was tempered by care and gentleness; he did not hurt Nico while transporting him aboard the Argo II. “He still has blood on him,” Frank whispered to Hazel as though Nico wasn’t _right there_ and couldn’t hear. 

Hazel walked beside them, nervously looking at Nico and not speaking. 

When they got to the ship, Frank had to shift Nico over his shoulder to climb aboard. 

Nico groaned as he was draped over Frank’s shoulder. He hung limply, head spinning and pain shooting through him. His vision blurred, then swam into focus. 

Percy was walking with Jason just behind them. He had a firm grip on Jason’s hip, an arm around his waist to keep him in place. 

Jason kept balking, acting like a skittish dog instead of the confident praetor he normally was. He glanced at Nico then away, then back at Nico. Jason was a strong boy but he didn’t have Percy’s single-minded determination.

Every time Jason balked, Percy forced him forward again. He had a look of grim determination on his handsome face. “I think Nico should take a shower,” Percy called up. 

Nico closed his eyes. A shower sounded nice. But he didn’t have the energy to bathe himself at the moment. 

Everyone seemed to realize this at the same time. 

Hazel said, “I’ll get him cleaned up.” 

Jason whispered something to Percy. 

Percy’s expression did something strange. He said, “Uh, maybe I should do it. Son of Poseidon after all.” 

Hazel glanced back at them. They were on board the Argo II now. “I think you’ve got your hands full with Jason. Besides, I’m his sister. It’ll be fine. Right, Nico?” 

Nico was sure that if Percy gave him a bath, he would die a second time. This time of mortification. The relief that coursed through him when Hazel said she would do it actually made him pass out for a few seconds. When he woke up, Percy and Hazel were still arguing over who would bathe Nico. It was weird. Everything that had happened since Nico came back from the dead was weird. _What if I’m still dead?_

“Hazel,” Percy said in a firm tone of voice. “I really think I should be the one to do it. Nico is my responsibility. Before she died, and after she died, actually, Bianca put me in charge of his well-being. I’ve already failed him once today. Let me make it up.” 

The pause before Hazel answered was too long for Nico’s liking. “What about Jason?” 

“Yo, Leo!” Percy shouted. “Come keep an eye on Jason for me. He’s had a rough day. I gotta take care of Nico.” 

The Hephaestus boy came bounding over. His footsteps were light, his movements graceful like a dancer. He was small but adorable and Jason must have outweighed him by a hundred pounds. Leo offered Percy a grin and took up the mantle on Jason’s other side. “Ouch! He’s electric!” Regardless of being shocked, Leo didn’t let go of Jason and guided him deeper into the ship. “Let’s get you some decent clothes, eh, sparky?” 

Nico felt himself being transferred between Frank and Percy. He suddenly smelled Percy’s brackish water scent, a mix of salt and fresh. It reminded him of home. He couldn’t put up so much as a token protest, too exhausted to keep talking. They would want to question him later and Nico needed to save his strength. 

“Get him a fresh change of clothes, yeah, Hazel?” Percy said. He ducked into the ship and kept talking. “Frank, make sure Piper is alright. I think her arm is broken and she hit her head when she passed out.” Percy went to the nearest bathroom and kicked the door shut behind him. He didn’t need to turn the water on using the faucet, it just began to flow into the tub. Percy propped Nico onto the toilet lid and looked him over. “Are you alright?” 

Percy’s face swam in and out of focus. The lights of the bathroom were too bright and hurt Nico’s eyes. He groaned and gave a slight shrug. How was he to know if he was okay? Nico had been dead and something happened to him while he was dead and no one seemed to want to tell him what that something was. 

“I’m going to undress you, okay?” Percy said. This was said as a statement, the question to make sure Nico understood rather than asking for consent. He pushed the bomber jacket off of Nico’ shoulders and hung it on a hook behind the door. 

Nico’s skin broke out into goosebumps. His heart pounded so fast against his chest that it hurt. He did not want Percy to see him naked. This was the least sexiest scenario that he could imagine Percy undressing and bathing him in and it wasn’t at all like the fantasies Nico sometimes indulged in. His face flushed red with a blush that spread all the way down to his chest. 

Percy’s face was completely blank as he popped the button on Nico’s pants and pulled his zipper down. “Lift your butt.” When Nico reluctantly complied, Percy pulled off his underwear and pants. They were left in a pile on the floor. Percy frowned as he stared down at the clothes but he made no comment. “Are you alright? Any pain anywhere?” 

Did he know something that Nico didn’t? Nico was too tired to lie. He touched his throat. 

Percy snorted, amused and unsurprised. 

Then Nico moved his hand down and pressed the space between his hips. 

Percy’s sea glass green eyes followed the motion and a shadow crossed his face. He moved Nico’s hand, looked at the unblemished skin there, and asked, “Does it hurt on the inside?” 

Nico nodded. 

Percy’s lips pinched in at the corners as he frowned. “We’ll get some ambrosia into you soon. But I think you should have a bath first.” He helped Nico to his feet. 

Something wet slid down Nico’s thigh. He made a noise of surprise and tensed. Lifting his head was hard at the moment but he had no problem looking down. The fluid that ran down his thigh was wet and whitish. It was thicker than water and seemed to glob together sort of. Nico stared at it uncomprehendingly. He spent a lot of time around dead people, both their ghosts and their corpses. He couldn’t think of a white fluid that looked like this that would also be coming out of, well, he was pretty sure it was coming out of his butt. 

Percy glanced down, saw, and politely said nothing. He provided sturdy support for Nico to ease into the bathwater. Once Nico was settled back in the water, he got to his feet and found a washcloth. Percy used straight water to wet the cloth and gently dab at Nico’s throat. “Tell me if this hurts, alright?” 

Nico tipped his head back and sighed. The water was pleasantly hot, though not so hot that it steamed. His skin felt raw and his nipples were oddly sore once they hit the hot water. He wondered about the white fluid leaking out of him. Percy’s touch was gentle but it still hurt. Not like Nico expected it to hurt, but enough that he winced. He touched Percy’s arm and then pointed to his throat. “Who?” 

“Who stitched you up? That was Jason. Don’t worry, he did a good job. All the stitches are straight and even.” Percy wet Nico’s hair. Rivets of pink flowed into the water; blood. Nico’s own? “I don’t think he meant to hurt you.” This was said more thoughtfully, to himself rather than to Nico. Focusing on Nico again, Percy added, “He restarted your heart.” 

It was Jason who brought Nico back from the dead? Jason who fixed him the best that he could? Nico felt a surge of love for the son of Jupiter. He didn’t know how far Jason would go to save him and the fact that they had come at all… Nico had given up hope. He thought he was going to die alone and rot in that jar. Tears rolled hot down his cheeks. They were tears of relief and gratitude. They had come for him and they cared. Jason cared. Jason brought him back to life. Nico had no idea how he was ever going to repay that debt...or show how much it meant to him. 

Percy looked away, giving him some privacy. 

There was a knock on the door, then Hazel opened it. She carried a mix-match of clothes that Nico didn’t recognize. Her eyes flickered to Nico, giving him a once-over, and away once she was sure he was alright. “Leo is the only one small enough to match Nico’s size and I’m worried that they might still be too big on him.” She set the clothes on the counter. 

“Thanks, Hazel,” Percy said. 

Hazel closed the door behind her. She leaned against the counter. “I brought some ambrosia. Can we take out those stitches?” 

Percy stared at Nico’s throat and considered. “We could try.” To Nico he asked, “Are you up for it?” 

Nico nodded. He didn’t have anything to lose. They gave him a small bite of ambrosia. The ache inside of him went away. Which meant that it had been a wound of some kind. A cut? No, it didn’t feel sharp enough for that. It was more like...the ache of pressing on a bruise. Nico kept that detail to himself.

Hazel produced a pair of hair cutting scissors from one of the drawers. They were probably the only scissors on board the Argo II. She came and knelt beside Percy on the bathmat. “Don’t move, alright? I don’t want to hurt you more.” 

Nico gave them a thumbs up and let his hand sink back into the water. He didn’t react when Hazel pressed the scissors against his throat. The metal was cool against his skin but he trusted his sister. If Nico couldn’t trust Hazel then there was no one in any world that he could trust. 

The scissors snipped the first thread. 

Hot blood poured from Nico’s neck and into the bathwater. All three of them cried out in surprise. 

Hazel pressed her hands to the bleeding spot on Nico’s neck. She was shouting. 

Percy jumped to his feet and ran out of the bathroom. 

Nico’s blood pumped hot and thick through Hazel’s fingers as though they were made of tissue paper. He felt the life slowly ebbing out of him with each drop of blood. A wave of weakness washed over him from his head to his toes. His eyelids fluttered, black creeping up on his vision. 

Then there was Jason, shoving Hazel out of the way. He jabbed something into Nico’s neck twice and pulled, then leaned forward. Nico felt another sharp tug. When he leaned back, Jason’s lips were bloody. His tongue swiped at his lips, drawing Nico’s blood into his mouth. His chest heaved, his fingers were coated in blood. “What happened? Why was he bleeding again?” 

Percy showed up a heartbeat later, panting. He must have run to get Jason. “We tried to take out the stitches.” He held his side. 

“Did you cut him?” Jason snapped. He used the red water to rinse Nico’s neck off and examined his throat. 

Hazel shook her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Just the thread. I was so careful not to cut him. I just snipped one thread.” She held her hands in front of her. Nico’s blood stained them red. Her eyes were so wide. 

Jason took a few uneven breaths. He rose to his feet, still clutching a spool of green thread and a needle. “Air,” he said and stumbled out of the bathroom. 

Percy helped Hazel to her feet and washed her hands for her in the sink. He glanced at Nico in the mirror a few times, but his main focus was on Hazel. “It’s okay. You didn’t know that would happen. Nico is fine. No worse for wear. He’s a tough kid. Don’t worry, Hazel. He’s going to be alright. I’ll get him cleaned up again, and dressed. You go find some ambrosia and maybe something to tie around his neck.” 

“Okay. Okay.” Hazel glanced at Nico one more time before she too left the bathroom. 

Nico stared down at the water that was red with his blood. They couldn’t take the stitches out because Nico would bleed out. If he had the energy he would have laughed. As it was, he was beyond feeling emotions at the moment. He just didn’t have it in him. Later, he could process everything that has happened but not now. Not in this moment. 

Percy drained the bloody water from the bath and reran it. He washed the blood from Nico’s skin again, then fed him some more ambrosia. Didn’t he ask Hazel to go get some? Oh. He was just giving her something to do. “I feel like this is the longest day of my life and it still isn’t over.” He helped Nico up. His touch dried Nico. Between the two of them, they got Nico dressed. Percy helped Nico get to the helm. 

Frank sat beside Piper and chatted quietly to her. They were exchanging stories. Piper’s arm was back to normal. 

Leo stood at the control panel, pushing buttons and typing things. He didn’t look up when they approached. 

Coach Hedge was looking at a map of Rome upside down. 

Jason sat on the floor in the corner and rocked minutely. He accidentally met Nico’s eye, and then looked away quickly. 

Hazel paced the length of the room. When she saw them, she rushed to Nico’s side. They found a place for Nico to sit down. She produced a length of green ribbon from her pocket and carefully tied it around Nico’s neck. “I’m so sorry for earlier,” she whispered. 

“‘S okay,” Nico said. He touched the ribbon. It was soft. He hoped that he wasn’t bleeding on it. 

Hazel fed Nico ambrosia. 

Once everyone was settled, Frank and Leo began recounting the details of their quest. 

Nico wasn’t sure what they were saying. He felt dizzy and weak. So weak. He could barely lift his head and it took a lot of effort just to swallow the ambrosia Hazel fed him. Every time he did, he worried that it would squeeze out of his neck wound. Thankfully it didn’t but it also didn’t seem to be healing the wound. 

Percy knelt next to Jason and whispered urgently to him. His voice was too low to catch what he was saying. 

“Did you find out?” Hazel whispered. 

Nico nodded. He felt the stitches in his neck stretch with the movement. That was a strange feeling. As he ate ambrosia, Nico’s temperature rose. His throat felt a little better. The new pain from Jason restitching his neck went away. And yet...Nico thought that if they tried to remove the stitches again, he would bleed out. It was like Achilles’ Heel but without the benefits. He wasn’t listening to the reports so it took a moment before he realized everyone was looking at him and expecting him to speak. 

Nico coughed to clear his throat. He recounted his story, giving them all of the information he’d learned. It wasn’t easy remembering what he’d been through. It was literally the worst experience of his life. Nico would rather die again than go back to Tartarus. 

It was a relief when they decided to rescue Annabeth and put Tartarus out of their minds for now. 

Nico spent the rest of the journey resting. He didn’t think he would be up for a fight, and if he tried to shadow-travel, it would probably kill him. He lay with his head in Hazel’s lap, her hand gently stroking his hair. Nico struggled to remember anything that had happened to him while he was dead. He barely remembered Otis killing him...he remembered traveling the shadow roads and considering becoming one of them...and he remembered Jason leaning over him, a haunted look in his eyes. But whatever happened to his body while he was dead, it was beyond Nico. 

He watched Jason through his lashes. Something was seriously wrong with him. Percy kept kneeling down to talk to Jason but it didn’t seem to be helping. Jason hasn’t once looked Nico in the eye. Not on purpose. 

Nico was drifting in and out of consciousness when the world rocked with an explosion. His eyes flew open, but no one in sight looked alarmed. 

“We’re rescuing Annabeth,” Hazel informed him. She stood up and handed him his sword. The black stygian iron glowed faintly purple. “Can you stand?” 

Nico sat up, then stood up. He put all his weight on his sword and used it as a cane to take a few tentative steps. He nodded to Hazel and waved her on. By the time Nico got down to where the action was, the floor was falling out and everyone was trying to secure a giant statue of Athena so that it didn’t fall too. The pull coming from beneath their feet was familiar in a horrible, sickening sort of way. His gut wrenched as terror crawled up his spine and through his veins like ants. They were directly over one of the entrances to Tartarus. 

Percy and Annabeth held hands as they made their way back to the ship. Annabeth was limping heavily. She gave a sudden, sharp yip of pain like a dog that had been kicked. She stumbled, then her legs were swept out from beneath her and she fell flat on her face. 

“Her ankle!” Hazel howled. “Cut it! Cut it!” She was stuck on the ladder, having been making her way back up it, and her sword was twisted in the rope. Hazel’s brown eyes met Nico’s. “Help them!” 

Nico hobbled for Percy and Annabeth. They were being dragged toward empty space, toward a pit in the ground. His heart stopped beating when they both went over the edge. Nico threw himself onto his stomach and peered over, expecting to see only empty darkness. 

There they were! But they were fifteen feet down. Out of reach. One of Percy’s hands gripped a tiny ledge, the other held tight to Annabeth. Sweat dripped down his face with the effort of holding them both by his fingertips. His face was growing almost pale with the effort. 

“Percy, let me go,” Annabeth croaked. 

Nico thrust his hand down but it was no use. Percy would never be able to reach it. He wished that Percy would let Annabeth go. But everyone knew that Percy’s fatal flaw was personal loyalty. He would fall into Tartarus with her before he let her go alone. At that moment, Nico hated both of them vehemently. Was he brought back life just to watch the man he loved die? 

Percy looked up at Nico. “The other side, Nico! We’ll see you there. Understand?” 

Nico’s eyes widened. “But-” 

“Lead them there!” Percy shouted. “Promise me!” 

Percy’s words made bile churn in the back of Nico’s throat. He remembered throwing those same words at Percy when they first met four years ago. Fate was so cruel and had a sick sense of humor. Nico drank in the sight of Percy. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but Nico thought he had never looked more handsome. “I-I will.” 

Percy smiled up at him. Then he let go of the tiny ledge and, still holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the darkness. 

Nico felt arms scooping him up. He saw Jason’s face from the corner of his eye as they flew back on board the Argo II. 

Jason let Nico go and then jumped away from him like he’d been burned. He wouldn’t meet Nico’s eye. Then, he actually shuddered as though touching Nico was as disgusting as touching something unclean and slimy. 

Nico couldn’t handle it. He found a place to sit and wrapped his arms around himself. What happened to make Jason treat him like this? They used to be best friends. Why was he acting like this? Did Nico’s dying really gross him out that much? It’s not like Nico’s the first demigod to come back to life. 

The other four demigods didn’t let Nico dwell on the changes in Jason’s behavior. They talked and made plans and actually included Nico in their discussion...although most of them didn’t seem happy about his contributions. If he kept talking - even about this subject - then Nico didn’t have to think about the fear of being near Tartarus again or the hole in his chest that was his love for Percy or the new hole that Jason had ripped in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes there will be more.


	3. Love Struck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Nico face Cupid.

“What’s going on with you?” Piper asked. She stood in the doorway to his room, looking imposing and immobile. It was the pose of someone who wanted answers and wasn’t going to go away until she got them. “Ever since Nico died, you’ve been acting weird.” 

Jason felt like a wild animal backed into a corner. He felt like she was a snare around his leg, looping tight and digging into his skin. Piper hadn’t ever made him feel that way before. He was sure that his attempts at schooling his features into something nonthreatening was not working. Instead of answering, Jason turned his face away. He hugged himself. 

Piper stepped into his room and closed the door behind her, despite the fact that they would get shit for it from Coach Hedge. She crossed to his bed and sat on the edge beside him. “Is this about Nico coming back to life? I don’t know Nico very well but I think he’s a pretty normal, if quiet, kid. I know that I don’t know a lot about you...but I didn’t think that death would bother you like it is.” 

Death didn’t bother him, and that was the problem. It was one thing to know that you had to orgasm while fucking a corpse, it was another thing actually doing it. He’d gotten hard and violated a body - his friend’s body - and Jason hadn’t even just reached orgasm. He had licked Nico, tasted his skin, and kissed his lips and touched his penis - _fuck!_ Jason buried his face in his hands. “Please don’t ask,” he begged. 

Piper touched Jason’s shoulder. 

Jason jerked away. “Don’t touch me.” It came out as a panicked snarl. The look on Piper’s face made his gut twist with guilt. “I’m sorry. Please don’t touch me. I’m...unclean.” He hugged himself tighter, fingertips digging into his ribs. 

Piper tilted her head. Her brow furrowed. “Jason, what are you talking about?” Her tone was like honey, sweet and golden. 

A whine broke out of Jason’s throat. He bit his tongue so hard it bled. The taste was nothing like Nico’s cloying, rotting blood and yet Jason couldn’t help but remember the way his lips brushed against Nico’s neck as he used his teeth to trim the thread. He remembered the way Nico’s blood had smeared on his fingers and how hot it was. Twice, Jason had cut the thread but only once did it wake the hunger within Jason. A new beast within his skin. “Pipes, please. I am begging you, if you have any respect for me at all as a person, don’t make me talk about this. I know you can’t control your charmspeak but please, _please_ don’t make me tell you.” 

For a long few minutes, Piper only appraised Jason. Whatever she saw, she didn’t seem happy about. Why would she? Jason was disgusting and vile and worse than a monster. Piper played with the hemline of her shorts, hands moving restlessly as she tried to make sense of what little she knew. “Just one question,” she said. 

Jason swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat. He said nothing. 

Piper fidgeted. “Do you want to break up?” 

That wasn’t what he was expecting. She didn’t even ask it using her charmspeak. But Jason felt compelled to answer honestly regardless. “Yes,” he said, voice suddenly hoarse. He dug his fingers harder into his ribs. Piper deserved better than him, better than someone like him. If he could have left the other Seven, he would have. But they needed to finish their quest first because the whole world hung in the balance. 

The look on Piper’s face told him that she hadn’t actually expected him to say yes. She blinked rapidly a few times, then stood up. “Well. Okay.” Piper left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. 

Jason laid down and curled up in the fetal position. For most people, exercise and physical activity would keep their minds too busy to remember. This was not so with Jason. Physical activity didn’t distract him from his thoughts, from his memories.   
  
  
  


One would think that the very real threat of the whole world ending and life as he knew it shattering like a mirror against the floor would distract Jason from the fact that not only did he have sex with his very best friend, but that he’d done while his best friend was dead. But no. Of course not. His mind would not get over the fact that he’d fucked a corpse. And he _liked_ it. 

No matter what Jason did, the memory of fucking Nico was right there in the back of his mind, ready to spring on him like a jack-inthe-box. It didn’t matter what he was doing. Brushing his teeth, or fighting a battle, or waking up first thing in the morning. 

He could barely stand to look at Nico...and didn’t think that he had the right to. Jason committed a violation of Nico’s body. That’s why he was isolating himself from the others. There was no chance that Jason would run into Nico in his own room. 

But Jason couldn’t stay isolated forever. He needed to step up and lead now that Percy was gone. Every time he left his room and spoke to the others, Jason had to stop himself from blurting out _I fucked a dead body and I liked it and I want to do it again._ He wrapped up as quickly as he could, kept meetings short and to the point, then returned to his room. 

In one such meeting, Jason ran into Nico. Literally ran into him. He’d been so focused on getting to his room that his vision had tunneled and he didn’t notice Nico there in front of him. 

Nico was so lovely. That was the word for it, lovely. He wore the bomber jacket still, couldn’t get him to wear anything else and he’d lost enough weight that it dwarfed him. Nico’s eyes were pretty black like pools of ink. His lips were red like the color of dried blood. He cocked one hip out, hands on his hips. The only color that Nico wore was the green ribbon around his neck, a constant reminder that the only thing keeping him from bleeding out again were the stitches Jason had sewn into his skin. 

“Watch where you’re going, Grace,” Nico said. Was his voice lined with steel? Did he sound disgusted? 

Jason couldn’t stand to go anywhere without the needle and spool of thread in his pocket. What if Nico’s stitches came undone and he died again? He wasn’t sure that fucking Nico back to life would work a second time. _But you would try, wouldn’t you? As many times as it took, until he fell apart and maybe even after that…_ “I’m sorry,” Jason said. “Forgive me. I, uh, I mean excuse me.” He brushed past Nico and ran for his room. 

“Jason!” Nico yelled after him. It was too late. 

Jason flung himself onto his bed with a groan. He cared so deeply about Nico. And he was so attracted to Nico, in a way that was different than before Jason had sex with him. To him, Nico has always been attractive but now Jason knew what his skin felt like, what his hair felt like. He knew what Nico’s cock felt like in his hand and how his nipples looked shiny with saliva and how good he felt on the inside, surrounding Jason’s cock. 

Nights were the worst, when he was alone in his room and his mind could wander. Usually, masturbating after a long and stressful day was a good way to relieve some of his tension. But instead of thinking of Piper or some miscellaneous person, he thought of Nico. Jason thought of Nico’s giving, lukewarm flesh. He thought of how his nipples tasted - oh gods, he’d licked a corpse - and how cloyingly sweet Nico’s blood was. How the blood had run hot over Jason’s knuckles while he stitched Nico’s flesh together. 

Jason’s body warmed at the memory. He rubbed his palm against the bulge of his cock. The problem was that even though he’d seen Nico naked in the bath, even though he’d been alive, Nico had been bleeding out. The memory was tainted by the knowledge that Nico was on his way out of this life, out of his body. His cock didn’t care. All his cock knew was that it had been good, the best thing that ever happened to it, and was wondering why they couldn’t repeat the experience. 

Jason slid his hand down the front of his pants. It was humid and hot in his underwear. He curled his fingers around his cock and thrust into his fist. It wasn’t very satisfying. He remembered the way he’d held onto Nico’s hips, how the bones had shifted beneath his skin. He whined into his pillow and tried to grip his own hip bone with one hand. It wasn’t the same...but it was close enough. 

His pants were loud in the quiet of his room. The sound of his skin moving over his cock made him think of touching Nico. His mind wandered, locked on the bathtub. 

Nico naked, skin flushed red from the heat, his limbs beneath the pink-turning-red water. How Nico hadn’t said anything to Jason, didn’t even react when Jason jabbed the needle into his skin. Would he have reacted if Jason shoved his cock back into Nico’s body? Was he still full of Jason’s cum? 

Jason shivered. The fantasy of climbing into the tub and fucking the dying - dead? - boy was deeply appealing. In his mind, it was just him and Nico in the bathroom, tub filling up with Nico’s hot blood as he bled out in the water around them. Nico’s soft skin would be warm. Jason’s grip tightened, his hand moved faster, as his balls drew up and tightened. He came in his fist, biting his lip so hard that it bled again. 

When he was done, Jason cried. He wiped his hand clean on the sheets and cried into his pillow. What was wrong with him? How could he get off to the idea of Nico’s death? 

Nausea rippled through him, made worse by a shame that burned. What was wrong with him? Was he cursed? Has he always been this nasty, this sick? Jason was revolted with himself. 

Now that Percy had fallen into Tartarus, Jason didn’t even have him whispering comfort. Not that Jason deserved to be comforted. But it had been nice, while Percy was there, to have his voice in Jason’s ear telling him that he wasn’t a bad person. That was because Percy didn’t know. If Percy could see Jason now, he would be disgusted.   
  
  
  


Jason spent all of his time trying to get a grip on himself. Not literally, though that happened often enough too. Then he almost died and that made him retreat even further into himself. Part of him wished he had died. But the gods weren’t done with Jason yet. He wasn’t allowed to die. 

Since rescuing him from the jar in Rome, Nico had slept very little and eaten even less, as if he were still subsisting on those emergency pomegranate seeds. He still looked half dead. His dark eyes fixed on Jason in such a way that it made it difficult to think. 

As they ate their lunch, the group discussed their next move. It looked more and more like Jason would have to go to Split and retrieve Diocletian’s scepter. He would be relieved to get away from Nico and the others. 

At least he was until Nico nodded agreement and said “The scepter of Diocletian could make a huge difference. You’ll need my help.” 

Jason tried not to show his discomfort, but his skin prickled at the thought of going anywhere with Nico Di Angelo. The way he’d been avoiding Nico was so obvious that even Coach Hedge had made comments about it. Now they were supposed to go on a quest together? 

Piper’s eyes narrowed. “Hey, sounds fun. I’ll go too.” 

Jason wanted to yell: _thank the gods!_

But Nico shook his head. “You can’t, Piper. It should only be Jason and me. Diocletian’s ghost might appear for a son of Jupiter, but any other demigods would most likely...ah, spook him. And I’m the only one who can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel won’t be able to do that.” Nico’s black eyes held a gleam of a challenge. He seemed curious as to whether or not Jason would protest. 

Jason didn’t see a way out of it without revealing what he’d done. Because if he said he didn’t want to go on a quest with his best friend, Jason would have to have a valid reason why. Especially since the fate of both Camps and the world were in their hands. Jason stood. “Nico and I have a ghost to find,” he said without looking at Nico. 

They found an angel and caught him in the Underground. Or rather, the angel allowed himself to be caught. And it turned out he wasn’t an angel, he was the West Wind also known as Favonius. At this point things were already going downhill. Then Favonius hit Jason with the ominous statement; “If you want the scepter, you must face the god of love.” 

Jason’s first impulse was to say no, no way, not happening. His next one was to laugh. He could feel the laughter bubbling in his throat, trying to escape his lips. It was for the world. This was for the world and their camps and he could confront Cupid. “Okay,” Jason said. His voice was a squeak, not at all confident. 

Nico was giving Jason a strange look. He reached out to touch Jason’s arm, then stopped and drew his hand back to his chest before making contact. The grass around him turned brown and withered. He didn’t say, _you don’t have to do this._ Because Jason _did_ have to do this. 

They became the wind. 

Jason had ridden the wind many times. Being the wind was not the same. If he felt out of control before this, Jason felt even more out of control. There were no boundaries between him and the rest of the world. He could sense Nico’s presence nearby and had the nauseating thought that he was once again inside of Nico - somehow - and it wasn’t something that Nico had asked for and Jason was going to throw up. Or, he would if the wind could throw up. 

It turned out that he could not throw up when he was the wind, which was a useful piece of trivia only if he was going to become the wind again. 

Favonius set them down in the middle of the ruins, next to a broken column the size of a redwood. 

Jason’s body reformed. For a moment it felt even worse than being the wind, like he’d suddenly been wrapped in a lead overcoat. He was aware of Nico beside him but it felt less invasive than before...yet Jason still shivered and stepped away. He hugged himself and scanned their surroundings. 

Favonius was talking but Jason wasn’t listening. Only when he said the name “Cupid” did Jason tune in again. The name echoed, as if voices were whispering it through the ruins. 

“What does Cupid want with me?” Jason asked and once again felt a whispering chill travel through the ruins. 

Favonius smiled. It was not a kind smile. “Oh, you know. You’ve got something to confess.” His gaze slid to Nico, a knowing light in his eyes. 

Nico braced himself against a column, his legs trembling visibly. The grass around him turned brown wilted. His face had paled. 

This wasn’t even his trial. Why was he… Unless Nico knew what Jason had done to him. 

The wind roared in Jason’s ears. Not a literal wind, but one in his head. He really was going to be sick. Cupid wanted him to confess...that didn’t seem like something the love god would want him to admit to. _It’s because you loved it,_ a nasty voice whispered in his head. Jason forced himself to let his hands hang at his sides. He needed to get a grip on himself or they weren’t going to get the scepter. 

Favonius suddenly disappeared in a swirl of red and gold. The air felt oppressive. The ground shook. Jason and Nico drew their swords. 

_So._

The voice rushed past Jason’s ear like a bullet. When he turned, no one was there. 

_You came to claim the scepter._

Nico stood at his back, looking around warily. 

“Cupid,” Jason called. “Where are you?” 

The voice laughed. It sounded deep and rich and threatening. _Where you least expect me,_ Cupid answered. _As love always is._

Something slammed into Jason and hurled him across the street. He toppled down a set of steps and sprawled on the floor of an excavated Roman basement. His head hurt. The air had been knocked out of his lungs. 

Nico scrambled down the steps. He knelt beside Jason, black eyes wide and worried. “You okay?” 

Jason pushed himself to his feet to get away from Nico. He didn’t want to taint Nico anymore than he already had. It was unbearably kind of Nico to act so concerned after what Jason did. “Yeah. Just sucker punched.” It felt like he’d been sucker punched nonstop since the day they got Nico out of the jar. 

_Oh, did you expect me to play fair?_ Cupid laughed again. _I am the god of love. I am_ never _fair._

From there, it became a game of trying to guess where Cupid was and what he was going to do next. The asshole had a sadistic streak a mile wide and even though he wouldn’t shut up, it didn’t help Jason to pinpoint his location. Jason and Nico got beat up more than Jason cared to admit. He was stabbed, thrown, and almost crushed below a crumbling wall. He lost his sword after something invisible backhanded him. 

Nico didn’t fare much better. An arrow shot him in the arm, making him yelp but no blood appeared and the arrow dissolved into nothingness. The second arrow skimmed Nico’s neck, slicing the green ribbon. The ribbon fluttered to the ground, exposing the stitches in Nico’s throat. 

_The things we do for love,_ Cupid cooed maliciously. 

Rage made Jason see white. It came upon him so swiftly that it shocked him. He let out a guttural scream. Clouds built above them, thick and black, and blocked out the sun. Lightning struck the ground, leaving behind a black scorch. “What do you want?” Jason snarled at Cupid. 

_Honesty, Jason Grace. You’ve been avoiding your feelings and causing everyone around you suffering._

Was he? Jason was more withdrawn than usual but...but nothing. Cupid was right. Everyone was suffering because Jason. Because Jason couldn’t keep himself together. He was filthy, tainted, a disease. All he did was make people unhappy and let them down. If they knew... 

“Jason?” Nico asked, inching closer to Jason as the lightning continued to strike the ground around them. His voice was quiet, calm despite how they were being toyed with. The stitches stood out on his throat. “I...I won’t judge you…” 

Oh, but he would. Because Jason had no right to feel this way about Nico. He had no right to love Nico. Not after the way he’d brought Nico back to life. If anyone aside from Percy knew… Gods, Jason wished Percy was with him now. The constant stream of reassurances had helped more than Jason initially thought. 

_Will you keep the truth locked up inside you until it eats away at everything you are? Are you a coward, Jason Grace?_

The lightning no longer struck the earth, though it still rumbled in the clouds. Jason looked at Nico. He couldn’t be this selfish. Even if doing the act wouldn’t ruin their relationship forever, Jason was ruining it right now. “I…” 

_Tell him that you’re afraid of yourself. Tell him the reason you’re staying away from everyone else._

Jason’s heart pounded like rain against the pavement. He trembled. “I...I’m in love...with you, Nico, and...I...don’t...want to be.” His face turned scarlet with the confession. The rain his storm clouds carried suddenly poured down on them. 

Nico looked like he’d been struck, like Jason had sucker punched him. 

Jason couldn’t look at him. He turned away and saw Cupid for the first time. Cupid was a lean, muscular young man with snowy white wings. The god’s eyes were red as blood and he watched Jason with satisfaction, as if he’d identified the exact spot for his next arrow to make a clean kill. 

“Happy now?” Jason spat. 

For the first time, Cupid’s voice turned sympathetic. “Oh, I wouldn’t say Love always makes you happy. Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you’ve faced it now. That’s the only way to conquer me.” Cupid dissolved into wind. 

On the ground where he’d stood lay an ivory staff topped with a dark globe of polished marble. The scepter of Diocletian. Nico knelt and picked it up. He regarded Jason, as if waiting for an attack. 

Jason couldn’t meet his eye. 

“We should get back to the ship.” Nico’s voice was strangely distant and hard. 

Jason swallowed. “Yeah. I can fly us -” 

“No. This time we’re shadow-traveling. I’ve had enough of the winds for a while.” Nico held out his hand. 

Jason took it.

**Author's Note:**

> The Trials Of Apollo do not exist in this fic so Jason won't be dying in a few months. Although it would be true poetic cinema to have Nico fuck Jason back to life, it isn't going to happen in this story.


End file.
